Emma Raducanu admits her R4 loss at Wimbledon was a bitter defeat but insists her recent performances have recharged her to move on the hardcourt swing that concludes the season.
After his victory against 9th seed Maria Sakkari in the previous round, the Brit was favorite to overpower qualifier Lulu Sun in R16 but fell short against the Kiwi.
Lulu Sun came up with her best tennis to knockout the home hope 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in a thrilling contest.
Raducanu will skip the 2024 Paris Games and will take a short break before returning to the North American hardcourt swing. While most other players are set to compete in the Summer Olympics next week, Raducanu is eying DC Open which starts on July 29.
“I’m going to go to the States, start in D.C., and get on the hard courts. I think I’ll take a few days off just to freshen up with the body, freshen up. Obviously, it’s an intense period on the grass,” she explained.
“I feel good about things going forward. I feel optimistic. I think that today, as bitter as it is to take, I think it happened for a reason. You don’t want things to happen too easily and too quickly. Well, I had that before. I don’t necessarily want just a massive spike (smiling).
“I think I’m just working there, tracking in the right direction. Yeah, I’ll just start off in D.C. and go from there.”
Desipte the All England Club heartbreak, Raducanu can take a lot of positives from her grass-court swing as she got better of world No 5 Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne and the World #135 is set to return to the top 100 in the WTA Rankings once the updated rankings are released.
“I beat two top-10 players within two weeks, which is a pretty big deal for me, seeing as the whole US Open even I didn’t play one top-10 player. I think I have to take confidence from that,” the Brit said.
“Six months ago when I was starting out after surgery, I would have signed for the fourth round at Wimbledon. Of course I’m disappointed. Of course I want more. I think everything does happen for a reason. It just, yeah, fuels the fire and makes me more hungry.”
After struggling with poor form and injuries woes in the aftermath of her 2021 US Open title, the 21-year-old showed glimpses of her best form in recent weeks.
Raducanu displayed a vintage show of her tennis against Greece’s Maria Sakkari – one that she produced in Flushing Meadows three years back – and she feels there it is the right time to expand his comeback brilliance with a tank that has ample fuel.
“I take for sure that there are areas I need to keep improving. I think certain things I have been doing better over the grass-court season. I think I improved a few things. My serve got better. I think I need to just work on the consistency of it, like being good every day not just like some days.
“Honestly, it just makes me more determined. I think I really put myself first in the last few weeks, few months. Tennis is the only thing that is really occupying my time, my mind. It’s all I want to do really.
“I think that that desire and fire is back. I just want to keep building on that.”